Back in 2011 the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a public warning, noting that the aggregate reductions in military spending in Europe totaled USD 45 billion, which is jeopardizing the viability of the Alliance and the US-European relations. Since then, bogged down in the Afghan war and faced with the economic downturn and the need to reduce budget deficits, military spending of the EU countries decreased even more. The U.S. share of total expenditures NATO has grown from 63% in 2001 to almost 75% today. Military budgets of the Alliance from 2009 to 2013 declined by about 8.5%, and tend to decrease in the future. If in 2009 the total level of defense spending in Europe amounted to USD 256 billion, in 2013 - USD 234,3 billion of the 28 NATO countries only the United States, Britain and Greece held its own requirements on the amount of military spending at 2% of GDP. Even Britain and France were forced to go on ways to reduce defense appropriations. As a result, last year for the first time Asian military spending exceeded European. READ MORE

As of July 1, the affairs of the European Union will be in Lithuania's hands. It's the first time that the small Baltic nation takes over the presidency of the European Council, and major tasks await. READ MORE

The public in Ireland is proud of what has been achieved under Ireland's presidency of the EU Council after some tough years. For the Irish people, the presidency has given them a newfound sense of pride and restored a tarnished reputation, says Lucinda Creighton. READ MORE

The negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States must be opened up for public scrutiny, aruges Natacha Cingotti. Natacha Cingotti is corporate campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe. READ MORE

Germany blocked the next step in the European Union's membership talks with Turkey over Ankara's crackdown on anti-government protests. Berlin blocked the decision to open a new chapter in the long-running accession talks because “there are still open questions,” Associated Press reported, referring to a diplomat from an EU nation. READ MORE